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How to satisfy your readers with endings by Rebecca Lee Smith *Comment To Win a $20 Amazon Giftcard INT Giveaway!*

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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $20 Amazon Giftcard!

The end of the book—that wonderful payoff when the guy gets the girl, the villain gets his, and the reader’s vision of a future life for the characters extends well beyond the final page.
It’s all about keeping promises.
Beginnings and endings can be the hardest parts of a book to write because they are the two places an author must make good on their promise to the reader, without cheating them, without patronizing them, and without insulting their intelligence. When a reader picks up a romance, no matter which genre, the beginning of the book should set the tone that will carry them through to the end. This is a promise. If the book starts out funny, it had better be funny all the way through or the reader will feel duped. The same goes for a serious, suspenseful story that suddenly turns into slapstick. I’ve seen this happen, and it made me wonder what book I thought I was reading. It also made me want to avoid that particular author in the future.
I think the book that generates one of the most satisfying endings of all time is A Christmas Carol. It isn’t a romance; a couple doesn’t get their happily ever after at the end (unless you count Scrooge and Tiny Tim). But every few years, especially if I’m feeling low, I drag it out and read it again. During the holidays, I’ll watch any version of it on TV—from George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart to Vanessa Williams and Susan Lucci. I’ll even sit through the Tori Spelling version, if I’m desperate, because the Scrooge character’s complete and utter transformation at the end gets me every time. Scrooge isn’t transformed by love, unless it’s finally loving himself, but it makes me feel good to watch. It gives me hope and makes me want to experience that kind of emotional makeover in my own life. I count on that ending, and it never lets me down.
In a romance, especially one where the plot centers around a mystery, the reader expects the mystery to be solved, the loose ends tied up, and the hero and heroine to not only end up together, but to deserve their happy ending. In A Dance to Die For, the hero, Trent, and his brother have been burned by loving a dancer, which makes him doubly mistrustful of the heroine, Annabel, an ex-Broadway dancer who has ties with the hero’s dead fiancée. If Trent is ever going to be happy, he must learn to trust his own heart and, in turn, convince Annabel his heart is worth trusting. She deserves someone who isn’t afraid to love her.
For me, the most satisfying endings come at a price. When the hero and heroine change the other person by knowing them, and later, by loving them—that’s what elicits a sigh of satisfaction from me. When that change, however small, is so profound, it is clear the two of them belong together. And always will.

Excerpt 1:
Something zinged past Annabel.
It cut and ruffled the new growth of hickory leaves beside her shoulder, like a bird soaring through the trees at warp speed. Her head jerked around. Trent was running toward her with his arms airborne, his beige raincoat ballooned behind him like a cape.
He pushed her off the path, then hit the ground sideways. He slid into the underbrush, shoulder first, and roughly pulled her down on top of him.
Another high-pitched crack echoed across the meadow.
Trent's hard body jolted beneath her.
He enveloped her in his arms and rolled her to the side, pressing her head into his broad chest. The musky scent of his aftershave mingled with the pungent tang of dried weeds and earth sent her senses into overload. The weight of his muscular thighs pushing against her equally muscular thighs sent a shudder pulsing through her. “It's okay,” he whispered. “I've got you.”
They lay motionless in the tall warm grass, side by side, for what seemed an eternity. Until the only sounds she could hear were the soft, protesting whir of insects and the rapid, steady thumping of his heart.
Annabel lifted her head and stared at the line of dark stubble along his chin. “What the hell was that?”
“Probably a poacher.”
“A poacher? Are you serious? Here?”
He loosened his grip on her shoulders. “The forest across the road belongs to the inn. There's no fence. All we can do is post No Hunting signs and hope for the best.”
“So, how do your guests feel about dodging bullets? I bet this place stays packed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Bio:

Rebecca lives with her husband in the beautiful, misty mountains of East Tennessee, where the people are charming, soulful, and just a little bit crazy. She’s been everything from a tax collector to a stay-at-home-mom to a house painter to a professional actress and director. Her two grown sons live nearby, still have the power to make her laugh until she cries, and will always be the best things she’s given back to the world. It took her a lot of years to realize that writing was her true passion. When she’s not churning out sensual romantic mysteries with snappy dialogue and happy endings, she loves to travel the world, go to the Outer Banks for her ocean fix, watch old movies, hang out at the local pub, and make her day complete by correctly answering the Final Jeopardy! Question. http://www.rebeccaleesmith.com/

Rebecca will be giving away a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour as well as to the host with the most comments (excluding the host's and the author's).

Bolton, I know exactly what you mean. I love it when a book gives me a twist in the story or wrenches a feeling from me that is totally unexpected. That book usually ends up on my keeper shelf. Oh, ha. Like I just have ONE keeper shelf! LOL

You are so right. I have read books that started out so great and then just seemed to run out of steam. They made me question why I was so far into the book and i it was even the same one.Thanks!cinderwhims at gmail dot com

The beginnings are really important. I base my decision of whether to purchase a book on, apart from the blurb, the beginning. If it can intrigue me, I'll give it a try. I usually download the sample from Amazon as well. Thanks for the giveaway! :-)

I've always liked books that didnt have a really long and drawn out beginning. I like the ones that jump right into the story and then slowly release details about the characters throughout. Thats definately a way to get my attention! I just want to also say that I LOVE A Christmas Carol too :D

Of course I want the entire book to grab me and make me want to read every line. However, the ending is so important, it will make or break my desire to read other installments in a series or even further books by the author. I recently read a very interesting book that I know will be a series and I also know that because of the very last sentence, I will not rush to get the next book :)Thank you for sharing today. dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

I also like it when the beginning really gets me interested. Although often I find the beginnings can be slow. But by the end if the end is so good sometimes i forget. But i definitely prefer something to happen in the first chapter. Not just filler.

I think you're exactly right. If a book doesn't catch me pretty quickly I get bored & have a hard time getting through it. Then again, especially now that I'm home & have so much going on I need a book that keeps me coming back. I've been reading the same book for several months now :( I have soooo many books to read right now but I will not start another til I finish this one.

i think that all parts are important but especially the beginning and ending. if i hate the ending there is little chance of me picking up another book by the same author..if the beginning sucks it's hard to keep reading. the middle needs to keep me interested too, but generally once i start a book i have to finish so as long as the middle isn't horrible a book is safe.

I do agree that the book should be consistent throughout. However, a book doesn't necessarily have to have a happy ending to please me! Sometimes, a book that is "unforgettable" is one that ends in a way that I did not suspect. I am a sucker, and I like my HEA's, but that's not a make-or-break deal for me.

I have to have a happy ending! There is nothing worse than reading a book just for the ending to be tragic and let you down. It built up just so everything can be teared down. At the same time, I need a book that can hold my attention and hopefully not have a cliff-hanger ending. Those things are the devil!

I don't need a HEA ending, I don't need a spectacular ending either. I want an ending that has stayed true to the plot and flows properly. I love endings I didn't see coming, full of suspense! Thanks for the giveaway!

I think the ending of a book can color my feelings about the entire book. I have read some books where I hated the ending and it just ruined the story for me. I do know that my tendency to read romance novels has more to do with knowing I will get a happy ending than it does with me being a very romantic person. Haha!

Beginnings and endings are absolutely important! They can make or break a book. I've read books that were simply amazing up until the very end! It gets me so mad when they're like that.Thanks for the giveaway!laceyblossom1@gmail.com

definitely the beginning is most important, i've learned to put a book that i don't like down and not feel obliged to read it if i've read the first chapter !!! and so if something doesn't work for me in the first chapters it's gone. that said i really don't like very sad books or series that leave you hanging

I'm a sucker for a happy ending! I end up feeling miserable if there isn't. I was both wanting and dreading 'when you were mine' recently cause it was a retelling of romeo and juliet and we all know how that ends!I think you're right at the best endings coming with a price though, nothing worth having comes without work at the end of the day.Great post!

NAILED. IT! It aggravates me to no end when I start a book and I am enjoying it, but then all of a sudden the whole tone of the book changes. Another big problemo for me are CLIFFHANGERS. A small cliffhanger that is one thing, but a major cliffhanger is another story. It makes me angry. I feel like ther should be no need for those kinds off cliffhangers at the end of a book. If you wrote a great story, you don't need that to bring you back. Sorry for the ramble. This is an issue that bugs me and I tend to write in circles.